Snyder's Sandwich: Concert pianist coming to town hall

By Mark Snyder

Friday

Apr 6, 2018 at 1:07 PMApr 6, 2018 at 1:07 PM

As the final part of this year’s Village Concert Series, the Sandwich Arts Alliance will host world-class concert pianist Sara Daneshpour for a performance at the Sandwich Town Hall Auditorium on April 14. The concert begins at 7 PM, and tickets are $25.00 ($10.00 for students). Tickets can be purchased online at sandwichartsalliance.org.

Daneshpour be utilizing the baby grand piano, which was donated late last year to Town Hall by Mary Coleman of Eastham.

A native of Washington, D.C., Daneshpour is a graduate of both the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and the Juilliard School in New York. She has performed throughout the United States and Europe, as well as Canada, Japan, and Israel, where just last year she placed third in the prestigious Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition. Jury chair Arie Vardi described Daneshpour's playing as "a combination of magic and inner beauty."

The pianist also earned top prizes at the 2014 Seoul International Music Competition, the 2012 Concours International de Musique du Maroc (Morocco), and the 2007 International Russian Music Piano Competition.

Listening to her treatment of a Ravel work, the Washington Post reported that Dashenpour had a "virtuostic touch" and "a rich, imaginative sense of color and dramatic pace." Of another performance, the Dallas Morning News found "a flawless sense of the music's ebb, flow and surge. Cascades of notes glided by eve so elegantly, exquisitely tapered with no hint of effort.”

The upcoming concert has added special meaning, since the Sandwich Town Hall has lacked a piano until the baby grand's donation. Having originally purchased her baby grand in Sandwich, Coleman thought it right to return it to its hometown.

With a new piano, the Sandwich Arts Alliance decided that The Village Concert Series for the 2017-2018 season should include a concert pianist. After researching various musicians, they found Daneshpour performing at Highfield Hall. They knew that Sara was the perfect choice for welcoming the new baby grand.

This is one of two classical concerts being held in Sandwich this coming weekend. The Cape Cod Classical Road Show also will be holding a performance at Sandwich Town Hall on April 13 at 7 PM. The concert is free and open to the public. Courtesy online registration is suggested at www.sandwichpubliclibrary.com.

It will be a musical weekend for the Town of Sandwich.

Sandwich woman running marathon in London for charity

Melissa Zawadzki of Sandwich started running for the first time in her life in late 2013, and ran her first Boston Marathon just a few short months later. Since Boston, she has run more than 15 half-marathons as well as the New York City Marathon, Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC, and the Warsaw Marathon in Poland. This year, she will be running marathons in London and Chicago.

"I'd had my two boys (Tobin 7 and Tegan 5 1/2), so I wanted to get back in shape," she tells Snyder's Sandwich of how she got into running. "So, I ran a 5K. My husband had access to a Boston Marathon bib. At that time, the most I had run was five miles. But I trained, and I did it. I wasn't pleased. I made some rookie mistakes. Then I did New York and did much better."

She will have four of the six marathons completed to complete the world marathon majors, and is hoping to do Berlin and Tokyo (if she can get into it through a lottery) next year to complete this amazing and rare feat. More info about the world majors is available at www.worldmarathonmajors.com.

Zawadzki is running the London Marathon for an amazing charity called MACS, which is the UK's national charity for children born without eyes or with underdeveloped eyes. If you'd like to donate, donations can be made online at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MelissaZ

"I can not express how proud I am of her and all she has done these past few years," Peter Zawadzki, Melissa's husband, said. "She is extremely modest, so I had to reach out because I know she would never do anything to promote her efforts."

We wish her much success! Run, Melissa, run!

Sandwich sailors looking for more athletes

The Sandwich Sailor Special Olympics Community Program is actively seeking intellectually-challenged individuals to join its year round program. For more information, visit www.sandwichsailors.org. To join, contact the Sandwich Recreation Department or contact rickserodio@comcast.net or 603-494-1327.

School Committee race narrows

The Sandwich School Committee has three seats open, and four newcomers are running for them.

Two candidates who had handed in signed petitions informed Town Clerk Taylor White that they would not be running. Former school committee member Lois Wack and newcomer Holli Wong withdrew from the race, and their names will not be on the ballot. With Wack's withdrawal, this guarantees a majority of the school committee will have no prior experience.

Current members Stephanie Urschel Hall, Jay Mcgrail, and Beth Cummings chose not to run for reelection. McGrail was recently appointed as the new facilities director for the school district.

The candidates who will appear on the ballot (in alphabetical order) are Angela Dalpe-Healy, Don DiGiacomo, Sheri Erickson, and Gillian McManus Norton. The election is May 10.

Speaking of schools....

We want to congratulate Sandwich’s own Mary Van Cleef, who has been selected by the Massachusetts Parent Teacher Association as the Massachusetts Outstanding Teacher of the Year.

This is the second year in a row that a Sandwich Public Schools staff member was nominated by the Sandwich Elementary PTA and subsequently awarded. Last year, Marc Smith was named Massachusetts Principal of the Year.

What an incredible honor for such a wonderful person--and teacher.

Mark Snyder, who has written more than 2,500 articles in newspapers and magazines, and published three books, is the CEO of PMPNetwork.com, the internet’s entertainment superstation. He also started the Sandwich News group on Facebook, which has 8500 subscribers. Have a story idea? He can be reached by e-mail via snyderssandwich@aol.com, via toll free fax at 866-655-8234, and on Facebookwww.facebook.com/MarkSnyderTVRadio.